Green Real Estate Appraiser

New HOA laws address maintenance, fixes

Posted on October 8, 2024 | Leave a comment

SB900 greatly expands Civil Code Section 4775, which mainly addresses how maintenance and repair obligations are allocated between homeowners and the HOA if the CC&Rs are silent.

A new subpart (a)(2) is inserted into Section 4775, stating that, unless the CC&Rs state otherwise or a utility provider is responsible, the HOA must maintain, repair, and replace utility services (gas, water, electricity, or heat) to individual homes. The HOA is expressly required to make repairs extending into the Unit or Lot affected, if that is what it takes to restore the utility service.

Additionally, a new subpart (b) is added to the statute, requiring HOAs to start repairs to restore utility services within 14 days of the service interruption. If there is not enough money in the reserve account designated for utility restoration to pay for the work, the board may without a member vote borrow money and impose an emergency assessment upon the membership. This may override some HOA governing documents that limit or prohibit boards from borrowing without membership votes.

read more new laws for 2025 at: https://www.roattorneys.com/blog/new-laws-coming-for-hoas-in-2025-part-ii

Solar Panel Life Expectancy

Posted on June 27, 2024 | Leave a comment

Every solar panel has its own production profile depending on the type of solar panel you have (monocrystalline, aka “mono”; polycrystalline, aka “poly”; and thin-film are three main forms). Locate your specific solar panel on the manufacturer’s website under “product support,” and download the warranty provisions if they’re still available. Then, find the clause for the performance or power limited warranty. (Don’t confuse the performance warranty with the product defect warranty, which typically guarantees the equipment for 10 to 12 years.) Most companies offer solar panels with a performance warranty of 25 or 30 years. Mono and poly panels will lose a significant amount of performance the first year (known as the “burn-in period”), then gradually taper off indefinitely. Most thin-film modules won’t experience a significant first-year performance drop, but they’ve historically been lower-wattage modules with much lower cell efficiencies.

Selecting a Solar Inverter

Posted on June 25, 2024 | Leave a comment

Inverters are an indispensable component of almost all solar electric systems. They work long hours converting the direct current (DC) electricity generated by a photovoltaic (PV) array into alternating current (AC) electricity–the type used in homes and businesses. In battery-based systems, inverters contain circuitry to perform a number of additional useful functions.

Do You Need an Inverter?

Although this may seem like a ridiculous question, some solar applications operate solely on DC power and, as a result, don’t require inverters. Included in this category are small solar electric systems that power a few DC circuits in rustic, out-of-the-way cabins and cottages; recreational vehicles; and sailboats. It also includes direct water-pumping systems that produce DC electricity to power DC water pumps–for livestock, for example. My DC solar pond aerator and the DC fans in my Chinese greenhouse are powered directly by PV modules. But virtually all other renewable energy systems require an inverter. The type of inverter needed depends on the type of system.

Inverters come in many shapes, sizes, and prices. The smallest inverters, referred to as “pocket inverters,” range from 50 to 200 watts. They’re ideal for supplying small loads, such as computers, radios, and televisions. Most homes and small businesses, however, require inverters in the 2,500-to-12,000-watt range. So, which inverter should you select?

New HOA laws address maintenance, fixes

Solar Panel Life Expectancy

Selecting a Solar Inverter

Do You Need an Inverter?

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